Message on the theme of the river of Europe. The largest rivers in Western Europe

interactive map Europe online with cities. Satellite and classical maps of Europe

Europe is a part of the world located in the northern hemisphere of the Earth (on the continent of Eurasia). A map of Europe shows that its territory is washed by the seas of the Atlantic and North arctic oceans. The area of ​​the European part of the mainland is more than 10 million square kilometers. Approximately 10% of the world's population (740 million people) lives on this territory.

Satellite map of Europe at night

Geography of Europe

In the 18th century, V.N. Tatishchev proposed to accurately determine the eastern border of Europe: along the ridge Ural mountains and the Yaik River to the Caspian Sea. Currently on satellite map Europe, you can see that the eastern border runs along the eastern foot of the Ural Mountains, along the Mugodzhar mountains, along the Emba River, the Caspian Sea, the Kume and Manych rivers, and also along the mouth of the Don.

Approximately ¼ of the territory of Europe falls on the peninsulas; 17% of the territory is occupied by mountains such as the Alps, the Pyrenees, the Carpathians, the Caucasus, etc. The highest point in Europe is Mont Blanc (4808 m), and the lowest is the Caspian Sea (-27 m). Major rivers the European part of the mainland - the Volga, Danube, Dnieper, Rhine, Don and others.

Mont Blanc Peak - highest point Europe

States of Europe

On political map Europe, it can be seen that approximately 50 states are located on this territory. It is worth noting that only 43 states are officially recognized by other countries; five states are located in Europe only partially, and 2 countries have limited recognition or are not recognized at all by other countries.

Europe is often divided into several parts: Western, Eastern, Southern and Northern. Western European countries include Austria, Belgium, Great Britain, Germany, Liechtenstein, Ireland, France, Monaco, Luxembourg, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

In the territory of Eastern Europe are Belarus, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Moldova, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland and Romania.

Political map of Europe

In the territory Northern Europe are located Scandinavian countries and the Baltic countries: Denmark, Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden, Finland and Iceland.

Southern Europe is San Marino, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Vatican City, Greece, Andorra, Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Malta and Slovenia.

Partly in Europe are countries such as Russia, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Azerbaijan. The unrecognized entities include the Republic of Kosovo and the Transnistrian Moldavian Republic.

Danube river in Budapest

Politics of Europe

In the field of politics, the leaders are the following states of Europe: France, Germany, Great Britain and Italy. Today, 28 European countries are part of European Union- a supranational association that determines the political, commercial and monetary activities of the participating countries.

Also, many European countries are part of NATO - a military alliance in which, in addition to European countries USA and Canada are participating. Finally, 47 states are members of the Council of Europe, an organization that implements programs for the protection of human rights, protection environment etc.

Events on Maidan in Ukraine

For 2014, the main centers of instability are Ukraine, where hostilities unfolded after Russia annexed Crimea and the events on the Maidan, as well as Balkan Peninsula, where the problems that arose after the collapse of Yugoslavia have not yet been resolved.

This river has carried its course through many centuries, is associated with the culture and customs of different peoples, in this respect it has no equal. And, despite the fact that it is located in Western Europe, Russian history is closely intertwined with it. Repeatedly on its banks fought with a powerful Ottoman Empire, and even before the adoption of Christianity, Prince Svyatoslav fought on these shores. And, of course, many cities located on the banks of this river were liberated by Soviet troops.

TravelAsk has collected only the most interesting things about the Danube.

The longest and most multinational

The length of the Danube is 2860 kilometers, and if we talk about Europe as part of the world, then only the Volga overtakes it in its length. The river basin is also impressive - 817 thousand square kilometers.

The peculiarity of the Danube is that it is an international river: it originates in the Black Forest mountains in Germany, and then flows through nine more countries: Bulgaria, Ukraine, Romania, Moldova, Hungary, Austria, Croatia, Serbia and Slovakia.

The capitals of four states stand on the banks of the Danube: Budapest (), (), Vienna () and Bratislava (Slovakia). A reservoir flows into the Black Sea. No river flows through so many countries. Just imagine how the banks of the Danube are multinational, diverse in their culture and customs.

Known to the ancient Greeks

The first known references to the Danube are found in the writings of Herodotus. The Greeks called the river Istres. The historian wrote that the river originates in the country of the Celts, and then flows with seven branches into the Euxine Pont (Black Sea). Modern name The reservoir was given by the Celts around the first half of the 1st millennium BC.

The ancient Romans fought on the banks of the Danube. It was on the eve of the war that Emperor Trajan built in 103-105 AD. most big bridge across the river.

The length of the bridge was more than a kilometer, and for those times it was a colossal figure.

In fact, little is left of it now.

Especially for travelers

On the banks of the Danube, the climate is rather mild: hot summers and winters, mostly with rain and occasional snow. The river is especially attractive for travelers: after all, there are excellent cruises along the Danube with visits to several countries. All cities can be seen slowly from the inside, and such a trip will bring real pleasure. Perhaps this is the most comfortable acquaintance with Europe.

True, usually the cost of such trips is not low, especially compared to budget ones. bus tours, and starts at about 750 euros.

Fact #1. Approximately 30% of the Danube flows in Hungary.

Fact #2. Danube provides drinking water 10 million people and is one of the most important sources drinking water in Europe.

Fact #3. The Danube is the leading European a tourist route. River cruises are very popular here, hundreds of thousands of tourists go on them.

Fact #4. This river is the most important shipping direction in Central and Eastern Europe.

Fact #5. There are many walking and cycling paths along the Danube, so you can watch the river from almost any bank.

Fact #7. Many travelers consider the Danube to be the highlight of Budapest, because the river is a real symbol of the city. The capital of Hungary was formed by the merger of three cities on opposite sides of the Danube - Buda, Obuda and Pest.

Fact #8. In Slovenia, the capital of Austria is not called Vienna, but Dunaj. Well, the name of the river in their language sounds a little different: Danova.

In Europe, there are many large and beautiful rivers, but which ones are the longest? We will talk about this in this article. In order for our article not to turn out to be endless, we will consider only the 5 longest rivers in Europe.

The Volga is not only the longest river, but the whole of Europe. It is 3,530 kilometers long and has a drainage basin of an impressive 1,361,000 square kilometers, one-third of the entire European territory of Russia.

Due to its length, the Volga flows through many subjects of our country, including Chuvashia, Kalmykia, Tatarstan, Mari El, as well as such regions as Volgograd, Yaroslavl, Saratov, Tver, Astrakhan, Ivanovo, Ulyanovsk, Moscow, Samara, Kostroma and Nizhny Novgorod. Along the Volga there are four cities with a population of more than one million. This Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Samara and Volgograd.

The longest river in Europe originates in the Valdai Upland and flows into the Caspian Sea. A wave is the longest river that does not flow into the ocean.

The Danube is the second longest river in Europe and also the longest river in Western Europe. The length of the Danube is 2960 kilometers. The area of ​​the basin is 817 square kilometers.

The Danube originates in Germany in the Black Forest mountains near the city of Donaueschingen. Further, the Danube flows east through the territory of such countries as Slovakia, Croatia, Hungary, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova and Ukraine. In addition, there are four capitals on the Danube European states: Vienna (Austria), Bratislava (Slovakia), Budapest (Hungary), and Belgrade (Serbia). end point Danube - Black Sea.

After the creation of the Main-Danube Canal, the river became part of the 3,500 km long trans-European waterway that connects Rotterdam on the North Sea and Sulin on the Black Sea.

The Ural has a length of 2428 kilometers and ranks third in the rankings of the longest rivers in Europe. The area of ​​the basin is 231 square kilometers.

The Ural originates on the slope of the Kruglaya Sopka peak in Bashkortostan, flows through the territory of Russia and Kazakhstan and flows into the Caspian Sea.

One of the features of the Urals is that it is traditionally considered the border between Europe and Asia. Although in fact it is a border only in its upper part, which flows through the territory of Russia.

The Dnieper is the third longest river in Europe. The Dnieper is best known as the largest river. This is true, but in addition to Ukraine (981 km), the Dnieper flows through the territory of Russia (485 km) and Belarus (595 km). The total length of the Dnieper is 2201 kilometers, and the area of ​​its basin is 504 square kilometers.

The Dnieper begins in a small swamp called Akseninsky moss in the south of the Valdai Upland and flows into the Black Sea. Rivers such as the Volga, Lovat, Zapadnaya Dvina, Mologa and Syas also flow from the slopes of the Valdai Upland.

There are many cities on the banks of the Dnieper, the largest of which are: Kyiv (4,130,000 inhabitants), Dnepropetrovsk (1,040,000) and Zaporozhye (786,000).

Don is the fifth longest river in Europe. Its length is 1870 kilometers, and the basin area is 422 square kilometers.

The Don begins its course in the northern part of the Central Russian Upland and flows into the Sea of ​​Azov. On the banks of the Don are such cities as Novomoskovsk, Dankov, Epifan, Lebedyan, Semiluki, Zadonsk, Voronezh, Liski, Novovoronezh, Pavlovsk, Kalach-on-Don, Serafimovich, Tsimlyansk, Volgodonsk, Konstantinovsk, Aksai, Semikarakorsk, Rostov-on-Don and Azov.

Half European cities were built on rivers, which is not surprising, because rivers have always been of great transport and economic importance for the development of cities. After all, people just love to relax on the banks of the rivers, enjoying the scenery and clean water, and many - and fishing in it. The size of the rivers on which cities stand can vary greatly, and this does not mean at all that the most big cities should stand on the most big rivers. About what is the longest river in Europe, and will be discussed below.

1. Volga (3531 km)

It is the great Russian river that is the longest waterway in Europe. It must be admitted that in terms of length, the European record holder is far behind the longest rivers in the world, such as the Amazon, the Nile, the Yangtze, but in a fairly compact Europe, this is already a good result. The Volga begins, like many other Eastern European rivers (Dnepr, Western Dvina, etc.) on the Valdai Upland, then flows along the Central Russian Upland to the southeast, at the foothills of the Urals it turns south and flows into the inner Caspian Sea. The source of the Volga is located at an altitude of 228 meters above sea level, but its delta goes 28 meters below this level. Usually the Volga is divided into three sections: upper, middle and lower Volga. In its basin, which occupies 8% of the territory of Russia, there are over 150 thousand large and small rivers.

2. Danube (2860 km)

It is the longest river in Western Europe. It begins in Germany, and then flows through the territories of 10 countries until it flows into the Black Sea. Over such a long journey, the landscapes of the banks of the Danube change very much: high mountains, glaciers, mountain plateaus, karst plateaus, forested plains and fields. The Danube water has a yellowish-brown tint due to the abundance of suspended particles of silt carried away from the banks, therefore the “blue” Danube, sung by Johann Strauss, is also considered the most muddy European river. For Western Europe, the Danube is not only the longest, but also the most full-flowing river.

3. Ural (2428 km)

The origins of the Ural River are located in Bashkiria, on the top of Mount Kruglyaya Sopka. Almost all its way, the Urals flow through the territory of Russia, capturing a small piece of Kazakhstan, after which, like the Volga, it flows into the Caspian. The upper part of the Ural channel is the conditional border of the division of the Eurasian continent into 2 continents - Europe and Asia. The cities of Orenburg and Magnitogorsk were built on the Ural River. In terms of shipping, the Urals does not have much of great importance- There are few river boats here. But on the other hand, fish are actively caught here, since there are a lot of them in the Urals - catfish, stellate sturgeon, pike perch, sturgeon. The Ural basin covers an area of ​​231,000 sq. km.

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4. Dnieper (2201 km)

The Dnieper River, flowing through the territories of Russia, Belarus and then Ukraine, and for the latter it is the longest river. The Dnieper begins not far from the Volga - on the Valdai Hills, but at the end of the path it flows into the Black Sea. On the banks of the Dnieper there are such large cities as Kyiv and Dnepropetrovsk. The Dnieper, like a typical flat river, has a calm, slow flow, and everyone has long forgotten about the Dnieper rapids, which have become the bottom of the reservoirs. More than 70 species of fish live in the Dnieper, including sturgeon, carp, ram and herring. Also, many types of algae grow in the Dnieper water: green ones are the most common, but there are also golden, diatoms, and cryptophytes.

5. Don (1870 km)

The sources of the Don are on the Central Russian Upland, and it flows into the Sea of ​​Azov. There is an erroneous opinion that the source of the Don is in the Shatsky reservoir, but in fact its beginning is the Urvanka stream, which flows in Novomoskovsk Tula region(on the site of a formal source, tap water flows). The Don is a navigable river, and its basin covers 422,000 sq. km. Riverboats rise from the mouth of the Don to the city of Liski. Many cities were built on this ancient Russian river, including such large ones as Voronezh, Rostov-on-Don, Azov. Unfortunately, the Don was heavily polluted, which led to a reduction in its fish stocks. But even now, almost 70 species of fish live in it. Most often, roach, bream, rudd, pike and perch are caught here.

6. Pechora (1809 km)

This northern river flows through the Komi and Nenets autonomous region, and then flows into the Barents Sea. The sources of the Pechora are in the Northern Urals. Perm and Naryan-Mar stand on its banks. Pechora is navigable, but only as far as Troitsko-Pechorsk. Whitefish, salmon and vendace are actively caught here. The Pechora basin, which occupies 322,000 sq. km, rich in mineral deposits: coal, gas and oil.

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7. Kama (1805 km)

This is the longest of the rivers of Europe, which is a tributary and the most big river Western Urals. The sources of the Kama are located on the Upper Kama Upland, near the village of Karpushata. Near Kuibyshev reservoir The Kama flows into the Volga, the longest European river. The area of ​​the Kama basin is 507,000 sq. km, where there are almost 75 thousand rivers and streams. True, the vast majority of them are only about a dozen kilometers long. Interestingly, the Kama is much older than the Volga; before the last glaciation, it itself flowed into the Caspian Sea, while the Volga merged with the Don. After the passage of the glacier, which greatly changed the terrain, much has changed - Kama has become the most major tributary Volga.

8. Oka (1498 km)

The largest right tributary of the Volga is the Oka River, which has a basin of 245,000 sq. km. It begins as an ordinary spring near the village of Alexandrovka in Oryol region. Many ancient Russian cities were built on the Oka: Ryazan, Kaluga, Murom, Nizhny Novgorod, so it, like the Volga, is closely connected with the history of Russia. Divyagorsk was also built there - one of ancient cities Rus', which is now almost completely washed away by the fast waters of the river. Due to the gradual shallowing of the Oka, navigation on it is unstable, which has been suspended more than once (2007, 2014, 2015). For the same reason, the number of fish in the Oka is gradually decreasing.

9. Dniester (1352 km)

The Dniester River starts at Lviv region, in the village of Volchie, and at the end of the way to the south it flows into the Black Sea, crossing the territories of Ukraine and Moldova during this time. In many places, the border between these countries runs along the Dniester. Tiraspol, Rybnitsa, Bendery were built on the Dniester. The area of ​​the Dniester basin is approximately 72,100 sq. km. With the collapse of the USSR, shipping on this river also decreased, and after Lately almost completely disappeared, so now you can occasionally meet there only sightseeing ships and small boats.

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10. Vyatka (1314 km)

The Vyatka River begins, like the Kama, on the Verkhnekamsk Upland, in Udmurtia. But at the end of its journey, it nevertheless flows into this largest tributary of the Volga. The area of ​​the Vyatka basin is 129,000 sq. km. This meandering river has a typically flat character. Man uses it not only for navigation, but also for timber rafting. River routes end in Kirov, having a length of about 700 kilometers from the mouth. There are a lot of fish in Vyatka, locals perch, pike, zander, roach and other species are caught in it. On its banks such cities as Kirov, Orlov, Sosnovka were built.

Rivers in Europe were considered borders, trade and highways and sources of livelihood. Many are featured in famous songs as well as in folk art and have played a very important role not only in commerce and economy, but also in world history. The largest rivers are scattered throughout Europe, but the largest is in the European part of Russia.

The largest

Danube

The deep-water Danube flows through the territories of Germany, Hungary, Serbia, Croatia, Austria, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria. This river, probably more than the others, influenced the rapid development of many European states. In length, the Danube is 1780 miles and is considered the longest river in Western Europe. Many travel companies now they are actively offering river tours along the Danube - this is the most convenient way, in order to visit several countries along the coast of this important European waterway.

Elbe

famous European river– The Elbe is located on the border and separates East and West Germany. Now, the Elbe flows through Czech Republic and Germany. The Elbe has long been considered the most important direction for international trade, linking the largest European cities including Berlin, Prague and Dresden. Barges still carry cargo down the Elbe, and the many dams along the river help control floods.

Dnepr River

Dnipro is deep river, which flows through the territory of modern Ukraine, Belarus and Russian Federation. Since ancient times, the Dnieper River served as the main trade route, which was called "to the Greeks the izvaryag", connecting the south and north of the continent in this region. The river is 1333 miles long and is considered the unifying link for numerous Slavic states over several centuries.

Today, the Dnieper River offers incredible interesting trip according to the most historical places Ukraine and Belarus. In Ukraine, the Dnieper River is the largest. It is important to remember that the Dnieper originates from small lake. By the way, the classification of lakes by origin is carried out by separate bodies and is confirmed by world experts.

Rhine

The Deep Sea Rhine is one of the largest rivers of Europe, originates in swiss alps, and flows 776 miles into the North Sea in Holland. Along the way, the Rhine passes through Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands, France and Germany. The Rhine is considered one of the main waterways not only for trade, but also for exciting tourism, with enough big amount organizations that offer river cruises along the river Rhine.

After a rather severe pollution that occurred in the last century, the Rhine River has been completely restored. Now it is considered the main source of crystal clear and drinking water. Most importantly, the most great views. In general, the Rhine, like the Dnieper, originates from a lake, and the official classification of lakes by origin was carried out as early as 1956.

Volga

The Volga River is entirely within the territory of the Russian Federation - its total length is 3692 miles. Today it is the largest river in Europe. Forty percent of all of Russia lives precisely on the Volga, as well as its tributaries. This river irrigates many farms, supplies fish, and is also considered the main trade artery of the Russian Federation. A cruise on the Volga River will take tourists from Moscow and directly to the north-west of the Russian Federation.

It was only short review largest rivers of Europe. These rivers are home to many unique plants and animals with a wide variety of species. I will talk about this in more detail in my new articles.